San Francisco Central Subway funds get a key OK

Washington -- San Francisco has received a key approval from federal officials to move forward on its 1.7-mile Central Subway, Mayor Ed Lee said Wednesday.

In Washington for the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting, where he met with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Lee said the city has received a "letter of non prejudice" from the Department of Transportation that will allow the city to proceed with one of the largest phases of the $1.6 billion subway - to dig a tunnel under Stockton and Fourth streets, from the downtown Caltrain station to Chinatown.

Lee said the letter is "a good sign that the final grant agreement is on its way."

The city has applied for a nearly $1 billion full-funding grant from the Federal Transit Administration that would provide the bulk of the funds for the project. Officials said they hope to secure the grant agreement, which is an actual commitment of funding, within the next several months. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/18/MNRD1MR391.DTL#ixzz1kOZdZD4S